


what earth didn't give us.

by theonewiththeWeirdEye



Category: Mianite (Fandom), Mianite - Fandom
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Slow Burn, Stardew Valley AU, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:02:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24732796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theonewiththeWeirdEye/pseuds/theonewiththeWeirdEye
Summary: “Sorry, I-” Jordan wheezed again. “I just didn’t know if it was appropriate to laugh or not, so I held my breath instead.” That was only half true, but it was also the fact that the way Tom looked at him made him forget he was a human being that needed to breathe and shit.Tom laughed and Jordan couldn’t help but think that his laugh was the equivalent of angels singing. Tom definitely seemed like an angel of some sorts.“Of course it’s cool to laugh, dude.” Tom shook his head, then smiled at Jordan, pushing his hair out of his face. “So you actually liked it?”
Relationships: Tom Cassell/Jordan Maron
Comments: 10
Kudos: 43





	what earth didn't give us.

Jordan sat on the grass and watched some birds trying to catch fish from the lake in front of him. He leaned back against the tree trunk behind him. He let his eyes unfocus, letting himself daydream. His mind wandered off miles away from his body, the only thing tying him to the earth being the sound of leaves rustling and birds chirping. Otherwise he was gone; he was flying high above the clouds, watching the landscape from afar. He felt so powerful, yet equally powerless. He felt free.

He opened his eyes finally and looked around for a bit. He must’ve fallen asleep as he could see the sun slowly setting in the horizon. He got up and was ready to leave when he noticed a figure standing on the other side of the lake. He couldn’t make out exact features, since it was so far away, but he could tell that the person was sitting curled up near the water, seemingly staring into their own reflection. Jordan felt weird just staring at this stranger, but he found it rather peculiar to have someone around, as he had been living all by himself for years now in a small cottage that was far away from civilization. He wanted to say something to the figure, ask what they’re doing here, but they had already gotten up and were running away. Jordan felt defeated and disappointed, but, as the moon started to rise, he decided it was best for him to just go home.

As Jordan got into his own comfy bed, he couldn’t stop thinking about the person from across the lake, his mind filled with questions about who they were and what they were doing there. A small part of himself hoped to see them again tomorrow. Maybe this time he could reach out, he could talk to them. Jordan shut off the bedside lamp and pulled the covers over himself, then, after a few tosses and turns, he finally fell asleep.

* * *

Jordan woke up early in the morning and started taking care of chores. He fed the few chickens he had along with his trusty companion, a cat named Doggo. He watered the different plants in the garden, then even brought some of the fully grown tomatoes inside. Finally, he cleaned the house, made himself some food, then took a quick shower.

While Jordan couldn’t call what he was doing a “proper farm”, it was still self-sustainable enough for him to be proud of it and be able to not starve himself. Really, he had all the freedom in the world in his little sanctuary that his grandma left him, and he didn’t need anything more than that.

His mind still wondered to the person from yesterday from time to time. He couldn’t help but want to know who they are. It wasn’t that weird, right? To want to know a stranger as badly as Jordan wanted right then? It probably was, but Jordan tried to rationalize it anyway. They could be dangerous and he had to give the right information to the police if they wanted to catch them, or something like that, anyway.

So, when Jordan found himself by the lake again, he tried to make it seem like he wasn’t actively searching for someone sitting by the lake staring at themselves. Jordan almost felt defeated when he saw that no one was around. Maybe it was a little early? It was barely noon after all, and he only saw the person when the sun was setting. Jordan sighed and he sat down in his usual spot, then he took out the small lunch he prepared for himself.

The sun was starting to set and the figure was nowhere to be seen. Jordan felt a pang of disappointment in his chest, but his brain tried to tell him it was better this way, especially if the person could’ve been dangerous at all.

As Jordan was getting ready to head home, he heard faint footsteps behind him, and, when he turned, a similar figure to the one from yesterday stopped to sit by the lake. Jordan felt his heart pound faster, which was stupid because he shouldn’t have been so excited to see someone he didn’t even know. Still, his feet decided to go against whatever his rational mind was telling him, and it took Jordan a moment to realize he was actually heading towards the figure.

It took a little bit of time for him to get to the other side. While the lake wasn’t all that large, the path to the other side wasn’t easy to travel. When he made it there, the figure was curled up, their head resting on their knees as one of their hands seemed to draw shapes in the water. When Jordan realized he’d just been staring at the person for a hot minute, he snapped out of it and slowly approached as if he was approaching some sort of wild animal that could bolt away the second it sensed him.

“Excuse me,” Jordan’s voice cracked when he spoke and if he didn’t want to die before, he definitely wanted to die now. He coughed and continued. “It’s not safe to be alone around here. There isn’t anyone for miles in. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.” 

Great job, Jordan, you’ll surely scare this guy off now.

“My friend's house is just down the path there.” The man gestured to a different path leading to the lake. “She recently got a house there, I think it was built a year ago or something. So I think I'm fine.” He offered Jordan a polite smile. 

Jordan was a bit stunned; not only at how stupidly hot this guy was, but also the fact that after years of living alone, he finally had a neighbour! Well… Somewhat of a neighbour. They were still pretty far from each other.

“Oh, I never knew that plot was bought. It's kind of hard to get that sort of information around here since it's pretty closed off.” Jordan laughed awkwardly and shifted his weight from one leg to another. 

“Don't you have, like… internet at your house or something?” The man raised a brow as he stared at Jordan curiously. 

“I do not. I used to, in the past before I moved here, but I just didn't want to be bothered to pay for things I would never use anyway.” Jordan shrugged. 

The other hummed and then extended his hand.

“I'm Tom, by the way. Pleasure to meet you.” 

A more genuine smile followed after he said that.

Jordan's pushed the messy thoughts out of the way and smiles back as he shakes Tom's hand. 

“I'm Jordan. It's a pleasure to meet you as well,” Jordan said. 

Before he could ask Tom why was he here, Tom's phone seemed to go off and startled both of them. Tom pulled his hand away from Jordan's and answered the phone, getting up as he did so. 

“Hi, Sonja, sorry. I know, I know, I said— no, I'll be right there, yeah, I— Okay, bye, see you home.” Tom gave Jordan an apologetic look. “I'm so sorry, I have to bounce, I promised I'd be back to the house by dinner. See you!”

And with that, Tom took off running before Jordan had the chance to say something. 

Jordan sat there for a moment, watching Tom's figure disappear in the distance, then looked down at the ground where Tom sat. He blinked when he noticed something was there. Some type of bright white cord with two nubs at two of the ends. Huh. It wasn't hard to put two and two together and figure out these belonged to Tom. Too late to run after him now, though. He hoped they would meet up tomorrow to hand them back to him. The thought of seeing Tom again made him smile. He shook his head then started heading home.

After doing his afternoon chores and making himself some dinner, he put the weird cordonto the bedside table, then went to sleep. 

* * *

The next day, Jordan woke up to a proper thunderstorm, which made Jordan hurry to get ready to make sure his chickens were okay. Thankfully they were and Jordan only had to keep them closed in the coop.

He continued his day normally, as if the thunder didn't spook him every time it boomed loudly over him. He ended up sitting on his armchair, picking up one of his newer books, and reading. For hours, Jordan was stuck in the imaginary world where he was a strong female lead, slaying dragons and saving dumb princes from danger, and riding on a horse. The book was quite the adventure and Jordan enjoyed every bit of it.

That was until he heard a familiar voice yelled from the outside. Jordan got up and looked out the window to see what all the ruckus was about, and, surprisingly, he saw Tom, soaking wet, and flailing his arms as if something Jordan couldn't see before could get his attention faster. Jordan immediately headed to the door and opened it up, then grabbed Tom's arm and pulled him inside the house. 

After he brought Tom in, he told him to sit down on the couch and wait for him, and soon after that Jordan was bringing towels and hot chocolate, handing them over to Tom.

“Jeez, what were you even doing out there? How did you get here?” Jordan asked, pushing his now slightly wet hair out of his face.

“I just wanted to see the rainbow to photograph it after the rain stopped a while earlier. I didn't expect it to pick back up again, and since I was already far away and saw this house in the distance, I came over.” He then took a sip from his hot chocolate. “I expected you to answer since you did say no one else was around here.”

Jordan sat down in his armchair and nodded at what Tom was saying.

“You don't have a camera, though, how would you photograph a rainbow?” Jordan couldn't help but ask. 

“You don't—” Tom cut himself off when he seemed to have realized something. “Right, well, our phones now are smart enough to take good pictures of anything,” Tom said as he took out this thin rectangular thing, which Jordan figured it was a phone.

Suddenly, there was a flash and Jordan had to rub his eyes to make the light trails go away from his vision.

“What was-” Jordan got cut off by Tom shoving his phone in front of him.

“Look, it’s a really good picture,” Tom said, his smile probably brighter than every sun in the world.

Jordan blinked, then took the phone and looked at the image presented. It did look really good, there was so much definition in that picture. It was fascinating. 

“This is amazing. Technology did advance that much, didn’t it?” Jordan smiled as he handed the phone back.

“It’s kind of crazy how you just missed all of that. How long have you been here? Do you even know what year we’re in?” Tom asked as he put his phone in the pocket of his jeans vest.

“I’ve been here for a bit over ten years. After my grandma died, I just took over, because I got sick of how loud the city life was, and I knew I would never do anything with my neuroscience degree, so… Here I am.” Jordan shrugged then laughed. “I know we’re in 2016, yes. My phone has a calendar.”

Jordan took out his small flip phone and showed Tom that his phone did indeed show the date.

“I sometimes lose count of the days, yes, but I don’t mind that much. I just care about providing for myself and for my family whenever they ask for stuff like eggs, fruits or vegetables.” Jordan explained.

“That’s really interesting. And honestly so cool. I don’t think I could live without all the technology from nowadays. Even my job depends on it.” Tom looked very impressed.

“Really? How does your job depend on all of nowadays technology?” Jordan asked curiously.

“Well… I play video games, so… Y’know, I have to keep up. I am uploading everything on the internet, on a channel on a website called YouTube.” Tom took his phone out again and fumbled on it for a little bit before getting up from the couch to sit by Jordan’s armchair and pulled up something on the screen.

A video started playing on the phone device thing and Jordan watched with furrowed brows as he tried to understand as to why this man was comparing muppets, an iconic show that parodied today's society as it's spiraling out of control, to ugly monster people.

“Did you like it?” Tom asked, his eyes hopeful as he looked up at Jordan. Tom’s brows suddenly curled in confusion. “Are you.. Okay? You’re very red..”

And in that moment Jordan realized he had forgotten how to breathe. He wheezed as he took a deep breath in, then coughed.

“Sorry, I-” Jordan wheezed again. “I just didn’t know if it was appropriate to laugh or not, so I held my breath instead.” That was only half true, but it was also the fact that the way Tom looked at him made him forget he was a human being that needed to breathe and shit.

Tom laughed and Jordan couldn’t help but think that his laugh was the equivalent of angels singing. Tom definitely seemed like an angel of some sorts.

“Of course it’s cool to laugh, dude.” Tom shook his head, then smiled at Jordan, pushing his hair out of his face. “So you actually liked it?”

“Yeah! I don’t really know what it’s really talking about, and why it’s comparing the Muppets with a weird… game, I would suppose? But it’s fun nonetheless.” Jordan returned a smile and he watched as Tom’s brows raised and for a moment he breathed heavily, almost panting. “Uh… are you okay?”

For a moment they looked into each other’s eyes and there was some sort of connection there, one the two of them didn’t understand yet, but felt deep within their souls. And then moments after the two burst out laughing, because the whole situation was actually pretty silly.

They took a little bit to calm down, holding onto each other as they laughed, then separated briefly when the laughter stopped.

“Do you want to watch more of these videos?” Tom asked. “It’s not like there’s much to do in this weather.”

And as if to confirm that the weather was, in fact, awful, lightning seemed to have stuck closeby, followed by loud thunder.

Jordan thought for a moment, then looked at Tom.

“We can move to the couch then, so you won’t have to sit on the floor any longer.” Jordan said as he got up from the armchair to move to the couch.

“Right, yeah, I do actually appreciate that.” Tom grinned and went to sit beside Jordan. “Okay, so we can watch more of these funny videos..”

“Sure...” Jordan narrowed his eyes at Tom and the other looked at Jordan innocently.

* * *

Hours later, Jordan was with his head buried into Tom’s chest, very much asleep. The only sound in the room was their slightly unsynchronized snores. Tom somehow took most of the couch while he was lying on it, and Jordan was mostly on top of him, although his right hand and leg were promptly on the floor. Tom’s phone was on the floor next to Jordan’s hand, and Jordan’s glasses ended up on top of his head. For a while, that was how they slept.

Jordan awoke first, the sound of his rooster screaming its lungs out bringing him back to earth. He almost screamed when he realized how he slept, and he immediately moved off of Tom. When Jordan realized that Tom was still in deep sleep and most likely wouldn’t wake up anytime soon, he brought a blanket and a pillow, and tucked Tom in on the couch.

By the time Tom woke up very confused, Jordan already finished his morning chores and was working on preparing lunch. Since the kitchen and the living room had no separation, Jordan saw Tom wake up and grinned.

“Morning, sleepyhead. Or, well, should I say… I actually don’t know what you say during noon.” Jordan scrunched his nose as he tried to think, but nothing came to him.

“Uh… good day?” Tom said as he got up from the couch and scratched the back of his head. “That works, right?”

“Yeah! It definitely works.” Jordan nodded. “Come and get your lunch.”

Jordan set two plates on the small table which had two fairly large sandwiches. Tom offered Jordan a smile as he sat on one of the two chairs while Jordan went to sit on the other.

“I don’t have much, since I don’t really eat meat or anything that isn’t made in my small farm, so… I hope this is okay.” Jordan said, then began chewing his lip.

“It’s cool! I think it looks amazing! And I’m starving.” Tom grabbed the sandwich and pretty much started devouring it, and Jordan didn’t know if he should be repulsed or into it.

Jordan ended up just smiling and eating his own sandwich in a less feral way.

After they were done eating, Tom seemed to have realized something, then quickly began searching his pockets, mumbling something not even Jordan could decipher.

“My phone. Where’s my phone?” Tom finally asked.

Jordan blinked for a second. “Oh! It was on the floor, so I put it on the side table by the armchair. I don’t think it has battery anymore, and I don’t have a charger for it.”

Tom immediately went to pick his phone up, tried to turn it on to confirm that he was indeed out of battery, then sighed.

“They must be worried sick about me…” Tom muttered under his breath.

“Who?” Jordan asked.

“My friends. I told you, one of my friends brought me to her new summer house, and… yeah, I just kinda disappeared for a day, so they must be worried, y’know.” Tom explained as he put his phone in his pocket. “I should… Well, I should get going.”

Jordan frowned, but he understood the situation.

“Do you want me to walk you home?” Jordan got up and grabbed the plates to take them to the sink.

“No, I’m- I’m good. Thank you, though, I truly appreciate everything you did.” Tom did and when Jordan walked up to him, he pulled him into a hug which completely took Jordan off guard. 

“Uh… You’re welcome! You can feel free to visit any time, really! You were a very very nice company!” Jordan said maybe a bit too fast before Tom let him go. Tom gave him another one of those bright as the sun smiles that almost killed Jordan.

“Then I should get going. Thank you, again!” Tom said as he headed towards the front door.

Jordan followed and when Tom turned around for a moment, Jordan waved at him and Tom waved back then went on his way.

* * *

The next day Jordan found himself trying to teach Tom how to handle the chickens, which was fun in the most unexpected way.

What Jordan had expected was making fun of Tom for being lazy and doing everything haphazardly. What Jordan got instead was a very serious Tom running after chickens in the backyard, trying to gather them up, feeding them, and even managing to handle a very stubborn hen that just didn’t want to get back into the coop at the end of the day. And that was just Tom’s first lesson in farming.

The next couple of days went in a similar fashion, where Jordan was showing him how to help in the farm, and Tom excitedly helped out. And every afternoon, they would go together to lay by the river, enjoying each other’s presence and not talking much.

“Hey, Tom?” One day, Jordan broke the silence they got so used to. “Why do none of your friends come over?”

“Hm?” Tom turned his head to Jordan. “I just never told them about you.”

“Why is that?” Jordan turned on his side, his hand resting in the small space between him and Tom.

“Because I want to keep you as my little secret.” Tom said as he turned on his side as well and grabbed Jordan’s hand, their fingers falling perfectly between each other.

Jordan stared at Tom for what felt like forever and only realized how their faces were inching closer when Tom pulled away.

“It’s getting late. I have to go.” Tom said, that bright smile Jordan grew to love.

Tom’s warmth still lingered as Jordan watched him walk away.

* * *

Jordan grunted as he pushed a box over to look through another one.

“I swear it was somewhere around here!” Jordan whined, his hands rummaging through the box.

“I seriously can’t believe you still have one of the  _ original _ series Gameboy.” Tom said excitedly, watching Jordan from the bottom of the ladder.

“Yeah, well I never had a reason to throw it away, you know? I didn’t think it’d be such a big deal later on.” Jordan sneezed as some dust hit his nose, which also managed to reveal the sacred Gameboy. “There you are!”

As Jordan got down, Tom pretty much pulled him from the ladder, hugging him tightly and spun them around.

“You are literally the best, Jordan! The fucking best!” Tom cheered.

Jordan couldn’t help but laugh as he tried to hold onto both the game and Tom as to not make them fall over.

“Okay, okay, I get it, you love me, now put me down please!” Jordan pleaded and made a squeaking noise as Tom suddenly dropped him, only to catch him in time before he fell too hard.

“I’ve honestly never been happier.” Tom admitted as he let go of Jordan before things got too awkward. “How crazy is it that one of my friends just happened to have a Gameboy charger he didn’t need?”

“Pretty crazy in my opinion.” Jordan grinned, then walked to the living room where they left the charger and plugged the Gameboy in.

They both stared at the small piece of gaming history, then both cheered when the screen lit up. Jordan still had his Pokemon game, and he couldn’t be more happy about it. He went to check in his dex and to his surprise, one pokemon, one sacred pokemon, was still apart of it.

“What is it, Jordan?” Tom asked when he noticed Jordan’s wide eyes.

“My sweet boy… my Jerry… he’s still here… how?” Jordan said in genuine shock.

Tom stared at him confused. “Uh… what?”

“I… okay, so I really really wanted to, like, complete my dex, you know?”

Tom nodded.

“Okay, well, I knew this guy who had the last Pokemon I needed to complete my pokedex, and to get that Pokemon he told me to give up something I love, which is a wild thing for an eight year old to say, right? Well, I had this tangela I named Jerry that was basically my buddy and I cared for him deeply. That kid? He made me exchange my Jerry for the last Pokemon I needed to complete it. But now he’s back in my ‘dex.” Jordan explained.

“Holy shit, that’s amazing. And you still have the achievement for completing the ‘dex?” Tom asked as he looked over.

“Yeah! Still there! This is a miracle, honestly.” Jordan’s smile is so big as he starts playing through the game.

Tom just watched contently. Jordan didn’t even realize that Tom had his head resting on Jordan’s shoulder. Still, Jordan said nothing of it, and when Tom had to leave, his warmth lingered once again.

* * *

“Why did you move here?” Tom asked as he watched Jordan play Pokemon Let’s Go on his Switch.

“I just got sick and tired of the outside world, y’know? It’s pretty cruel out there, but here? No one will hurt you here. Okay, maybe a chicken or two will peck your face off, but that’s the most hurt you might deal with.” Jordan confessed, pulling his legs up to his chest and resting the Switch on them as he tried to navigate the game.

“Did something specific happen, though?” Tom then stopped himself and shook his head. “Sorry, that’s a bit too personal.”

“It’s… It’s fine, I-”  _ I trust you _ , Jordan wanted to say. “Some people took advantage of me in ways that… I just don’t want to think about anymore. I grew more and more paranoid as days passed and when my grandma died and passed the house onto me, I took it as a sign to get the fuck away from everything.”

“Aren’t you lonely?” Tom looked down at Jordan.

Jordan looked up and smiled. “Why would I be? I have plenty of company.” Especially now that Tom is around.

When Tom left later on that afternoon, he gave Jordan the tightest hug, which Jordan didn’t expect, but returned nonetheless.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Tom smiled at Jordan.

“I’ll see you then.” Jordan returned the smile.

* * *

Jordan had to hold himself back from losing it as he watched Tom try to float only to slowly sink into the water. Really, it was Tom’s face as he came back to the surface that made Jordan lose it.

“This isn’t funny, Jordan! I have heavy bones and I’m an old man!” Tom huffed and splashed some water in Jordan’s direction.

That only sent Jordan into a heavier fit of giggles, making him lose his balance and get water into his nose and mouth, which got him to choke. Tom, seeing everything unfold, started laughing as well. Jordan narrowed his eyes and splashed water in Tom’s direction as hard as he could.

“This is what you get for being mean to me!” Tom said as he splashed Jordan back.

Jordan tried to tackle Tom into the water, but when Tom didn’t budge, he ended up only inches away from Tom’s face. They both stared at each other for moments before flushing and pulling away. The silence got awkward quickly, so Jordan just splashed a bit of water in Tom’s face. Yeah. That will solve it.

Tom rolled his eyes, but he still gave Jordan a smile. Jordan really wanted to just sink to the bottom of the lake and never come out because that smile was infectious and it made his heart jump every single time he witnessed it.

“So… uh…” Jordan started, but when he noticed that the sun was starting to disappear behind the horizon, he frowned. “You have to go, I guess.” he said sadly.

“Yeah…” Tom was frowning as well.

They both got out of the water, dried themselves off and got dressed. Tom offered Jordan a sad smile as he turned to leave.

“See you tomorrow?” Jordan said hopefully.

Jordan hardly heard Tom’s answer, but it was nothing more than a quiet “yeah”.

* * *

  
  


Jordan didn’t realize that he fell into a routine of some sorts until Tom never returned the next day. Ever since then, the days felt bland and lonely.

Lonely, huh?

He felt lonely, that was hard to admit given the fact that he had been living by himself for so many years. Yet here he was, longing to meet this strange man once more. Every day he was waiting by the lake to meet with Tom again, and every day his heart got broken a little more when Tom never showed up. After a month he stopped going. He didn’t even go to the lake to relax as he used to before he met Tom. It hurt for some reason Jordan couldn’t understand.

His excitement for every chore turned into dread of having to go another day by himself. He cursed himself for growing so attached over something he should have expected to be temporary. He just wished he could’ve at least had the chance to say goodbye.

This was just unfair. It felt like a chapter in his life would never be complete, as if the author decided to leave him on a permanent cliffhanger.

It had been months since Jordan took the initiative to call his mother, since she was the only one who would understand him. He ended up crying on the phone for a bit while his mother tried to comfort him.

“I’m coming over.” Ianite said over the phone, the sound of her shuffling around the room signaling that she was already starting to pack her bags.

“No, no, I’m…” Jordan wiped his tears away and tried to keep himself from sobbing. “I’m fine. I’m honestly a hundred percent fine. I’ll get over it, I shouldn’t have expected more than… I don’t know what I expected.”

“What’s his name again?” Ianite was zipping a bag shut.

“I don’t know his full name. Just Tom. Mom, I-” Jordan got cut off when he heard someone knock very loudly at the door. “How did you get here so fast, Ianite, wha-”

“That’s not me, Jordan, I can’t teleport.” Jordan could practically hear Ianite rolling her eyes.

“Who could it be, then?” Jordan checked from the window to see who was at the door, but he could only see the outline of a bag and maybe an arm. “Give me a second, Ianite.”

Jordan slowly walked to the door and just as slowly he opened it, peeking through the small gap that formed. When he saw who was on the other side, he dropped his phone out of his hand and gasped.

“Jordan?!” Ianite’s panicked voice came through the phone.

Before Jordan could say anything, a pair of lips locked with his, Tom’s hands threading through his hair, and Jordan was pretty sure that he died and now he’s in heaven and it’s giving him everything he ever wished for. Yeah, totally, and that’s why he didn’t push Tom away.

Until he did pull away, because Ianite was yelling Jordan’s name through the phone and he had to pick his phone up now.

“Hey, I’m so sorry, I’m fine, I promise, I’ll call you later! Love you, bye!” And then he ended the call.

With his flip phone still open, he threateningly pointed it at Tom.

“What are you doing here?” Jordan asked, his eyes narrowed.

“Well, I kind of realized I love spending time with you and I missed you really really bad, and I’m sorry? I’m sorry for disappearing?” Tom said, maybe a bit too quick, his anxiety strong enough to make even Jordan cringe slightly.

“Why? You just up and left, then you come back and suddenly  _ kiss me _ and you expect me to forgive you like that?” Jordan didn’t expect his voice to crack at the beginning and the tears that he wiped earlier had returned.

“I just… I didn’t think I’d come back, honestly. I had a bad end of a relationship when I came here, and I was scared I was growing too attached too quickly and- and-... fuck, I know, I know I majorly fucked up, I was just terrified of getting hurt again, and you don’t deserve for me to be an asshole like that.”

Jordan slowly closed his flip phone as he listened to Tom’s reasoning, and then sighed loudly. He put his phone back in his pocket and pulled Tom into another kiss, but not before saying:

“You’re a huge loser, you know?”

Tom laughed and it was then when Jordan realized that this was his chance to not feel so lonely anymore.

* * *

Months later, Tom was moving into Jordan’s little house. He finally let Jordan have an internet connection and Jordan ended up making an instagram where he posted about farm life.


End file.
